Found dead and discarded in Mozambique - What really happened to Elly Warren? | 60 Minutes Australia

for adventurous young backpackers to fo on Mozambique's spectacular coast his a must-visit destination but two years ago 20 year old Australian Ellie Warren was found dead in the off-the-beaten-track paradise her body callously discarded near a toilet block since then it's been a living hell for her family in Melbourne and made worse because detectives in Mozambique seemed more interested in ignoring the homicide then investigating it their attitude infuriated Ellie's dad Paul so much he decided to travel to Africa in the hope of uncovering vital clues his journey is heartbreaking and bittersweet but as you'll see he succeeds 20 year-old Ellie Warren lived for adventure [Music] like so many young Aziz she had an insatiable desire to see the world and meet new people [Music] Ellie was a girl that really you know she knew what she wanted what she wanted to do and there's no way in the world that I could have stopped her even Nicole says her mother says the same thing there's no way possible she had her dreams and she loved the African people and the culture there she was full of life she was always happy always on the go there was never enough hours in the day to get at least to get all the things done that she wanted she get up in the morning and she would hear cram as much as she possibly could into a day but when le set off on her latest trip to Mozambique in 2016 her divorced parents Paul and Nicole could never have imagined it would be her last devastated family and friends have paid tribute to a Mordy alec woman killed while travelling in mozambique Melly Warren sisters now two years on from her death the family is united in searching for answers while still coming to terms with a completely botched investigation which is allowed a killer to roam free we're dealing with people that aren't that that don't care as far as I'm concerned they're not doing anything over there it's ridiculous it's been infuriating as well well it's frustrating too it's more frustrating than anything else that nothing nothing's being done tonight this distraught and desperate father's crusade for justice as he follows his daughter's final footsteps uncovering evidence that could be a turning point in this case [Music] you won't get something done you've got to do it yourself you know forget about the authorities right you have to go there and do it yourself so you think the photos the game-changer here the photos definitely the game changer here I've come back and now I've got the answers I've got them in 2016 Ellie spent six weeks working and diving for a marine conservation group Africa underwater in the picturesque backpacker hotspot of Tufo in Mozambique [Music] how is she enjoying it she was loving it yeah she was loving it and when she first saw her first whale shark that's had made it always wild for her [Music] but just a few days before she was due to fly home to Australia her lifeless body was discovered sprawled in the dirt next to this toilet block I got a phone call from my other daughter Christie and she was hysterical over the phone then she settled down and she actually said Elly's being murdered overseas is long gone I tell you my heart dropped it just it's just a phone call it and who parent whatever never is comprehended what initially we were told that Ellie had been murdered and that potentially they'd been a sexual assault as well so again from a mother's point of view very difficult to accept not knowing who how or why it's hard enough to get your head around your daughter being killed overseas but when you hear murder and sexual assault but how do you even begin to process that I still I don't think we have really um I think because we don't have answers to a lot of questions it makes it hard to there's really no closure for us [Music] despite being Australian Ellie's death could only be investigated by Mozambique police and it's now clear they were either totally out of their depth or just unwilling to uncover the truth forensic analysis found no evidence of drugs in her system but still the first formal police report released six months after her death stated Ellie died from a drug overdose they can't put their police report out which was only a page and a half and the first one came out with an overdose but then you've got toxicology reports saying there's no drugs in the system no no complete toxicology reports hair sample level sample from Melbourne from from South Africa no drugs whatsoever how do you think they come up with an overdose then they sent out a second revised police report they paste and copied the autopsy results put that on on on on the page and then they decided that because the autopsy results said it was a homicide they've decided now after four days that it's a homicide so what's the credibility in that there's no credibility whatsoever as far as I'm concerned they're not doing anything over there this is the translated copy of the police report detailing the original autopsy results mechanical fixation the introduction of sand content the obstruction of the superior inferior respiratory Airways by sound direct suffocation that is being treated as a homicide it's all there in black and white suffocation homicide yes yeah but the investigators just seemed to ignore that well I can't and I don't understand that Tom le choked to death on sand but this location where her body was found his hard packed earth something just wasn't right Paul knew his daughter had been murdered [Music] but it's the months wore on the family wasn't getting any closer to finding the killer so last month Paul packed his bags and headed to tullamarine Airport to catch a plane to Johannesburg I have to follow in Ali's footsteps go and talk to the locals and and see what happened to my daughter you know like well it's it's at the moment it's up in the air to suspected a murder what are the most name pica thority is going to do about this what are they going to do sweep it under the carpet and put it in the to out basket you know it's just not on you've come to rattle the cage yeah it's not good enough it's not good enough at all and I'm you know we're really the family is really frustrated about this [Music] are you glad Paul's going over there to get some answers yes I am I was a little concerned and worried about or concerned about I suppose he's safety but also what information he might be able to get we were hopeful that Mozambique authorities would have collected all the information interviewed people had samples and all that but really it appears that they haven't so Nepal can uncover something that they haven't that's got to be a benefit to the case yes to Pho lies on the Mozambique coast a 20-minute drive from the local airport of Inhambane a this country is still feeling the effects of a brutal civil war so tourism here is a much-needed source of revenue I arrived here last night and this is the first morning and you know this place has really got it it's a magical place and I can understand why eliwood would really would really love it here you know it's not hard to see why people would want to come here it's beautiful but it wasn't long before Paul was warned such beauty can come at a price [Music] embassy need to know that you're around the embassy need to hold you out on your own investigated it just for your own protection as well because what only people disappear I mean this is my mana Republic is a civil war country so it takes a nothing to take somebody out and dump it in the ocean coming up uncovering the shocking photo that's the huge piece of evidence that proves Ellie's death was no accident everybody that looks at it know straight out that Ellie was murdered Ultima there's no other conclusion even come to but still the police refuse to act blatant cover-up that's next on 60 minutes [Music] Paul Warren has come to 2fo Mozambique to investigate his daughter's death here in 2016 one of the few leads he has to go on is this photo the last known picture of Elli alive drinking water with friends at sunset on the night she died this seat and table here is the last it's an unimaginably harrowing task for any father going back to the spot where his daughter's body was found next to this public toilet throughout the small town he puts up posters pleading for information and within just 24 hours he uncovers what local police haven't found in two years the photo that you've unearthed seems to be the big piece of evidence it's a huge piece of evidence here yes what in that photo says to you Ellie's book it's a terrible photo it's a clear picture of Ali lying face down in the sand and legs apart her underpants down around their knees and she's got black sand all over all over on a on a bottom on her arms on a head and on top it's it's a it's a it's a terrible photo everybody that looks at it no he's straight out that Ali was murdered a photo that he's uncovered in Mozambique which he purchased from their phone they had copies of it first of all the Mozambique police authorities didn't have that photograph yet Paul was offered it to him you know walking down the street at a small price just goes to show I think that there hasn't been too much of an investigation done it's difficult to accept because you can say that there was she certainly struggled does it kind of sum up just how awful this whole process is for you guys that get to travel halfway around the world and pay a stranger for a photo of his dead daughter yeah and I think that's the thing realizing in Australia this would never happen I mean a full investigation would be done this is the photo that Paul managed to uncover in Mozambique yep how much does that say to you Ellie didn't just fall over and die she met with foul play that's right it's clearly a foul play murder of Ali in some form and ultimately there's no other conclusion Ian come to in his four decades in the Victorian police force Charlie buzina became one of the state's top homicide detectives he's analyzed the investigation by the Mozambique police and says it's deeply flawed so you don't think it's possible she's just fallen over and breathed in the sand and chucked on that I don't believe it is you cannot inhale sand and ex-fix she ate on sand because you are coughing in this flirting there is some other form that's either held Ali down in some form or push sand in her mouth and just held are there because you will be putting up a major major fight to breathe that amount of sand into your Airways very very difficult how astonishing is it for you that police report says violent death it says homicide hmm and they've pretty much done nothing since then very much it's just to me it's been treated just like a normal accident or some sort of a drug overdose as they suspect there now is it because is it corruption is it incompetence or is it just the fact they're looking after their tourist trade over there [Music] this is the photo of Ali taken by the fishermen very first person who got there this woman was the first person to identify Elly the conversation was recorded by Paul on an undercover camera and we've blurred faces to protect identities she's shocked by the photo because when she saw Ellie around an hour after that picture was taken she wasn't lying flat on the ground but in a completely different position I didn't go over so she wasn't like that that says she was fat yes they both said that Ellie was in a Muslim prayer position so the two police officers there at the crime scene changed the crime scene to make out that Ellie had gone to the toilet and fallen forward in the sand there's no question about it they are the facts right they changed the crime scene those two police officers it's a blatant cover-up blatant cover-up blatant cover up from the to faux piece now you know what until I got there right they all thought everybody thought there was drugs involved it was alcohol Ellie had passed that in the sand from going to the toilet they had no idea they the crime investigation the top crime investigation person didn't even have that photo of Allie lying flat on the bed I gave it to them [Music] it's clear that le was suffocated and then her body dumped next to the toilet block local police now acknowledged that she didn't die here because the sand in her lungs was a different color too far residents are now willing to accept the fact le was murdered have you thought this all yeah I don't get this is he above you he really didn't fall into place and dark no I don't remember that so you're basically saying that she struggled there are a number of key questions that are still unanswered first if le was murdered then why at this stage no one knows certainly there were no signs of sexual assault in the autopsies so perhaps le saw something she shouldn't have or maybe this was a robbery gone wrong but the other big question in this case is why haven't the police in Mozambique taken this death seriously is it a case of them wanting to protect the reputation of the town's lucrative tourism sector [Music] so you think in their minds if they don't acknowledge it's a murder then a murder never happened here yeah I think so there's a lot of crime that goes on there that's not reported about and so yeah I do think that they're trying to just hope it just goes away with time it'll go away and no one will ask you know too many more questions but Paul Warren is determined the people of Mozambique and Australia don't forget his daughter on his final day in Tufo he erected this monument to le le small sit down I'll get some plows but that's it and definitely stick the wanted me to put flyscreen date [Music] how much retal is this taking on you mentally ah it's very stressful I um but I know I need to do it for Elly I have to protect your dignity here and it's just devastating that you know to know that oh I should have been there earlier no it should have been here earlier done this to least you've gone a lie and you're fighting I'm fighting yes and I need support from the Australian government you think about being in my shoes for one minute right you need to do something about this [Music] who is the buck actually stop with on this who can get this investigation to the next level well basically it's all about invite the federal police have been assisting Paul and and Ellie's mum in relation to this and been open and what they can do but it's certainly by invite you cannot just go into another country and say we'll do our own investigation or can we come in as observers so it's a matter of can any pressure we put on politically by our politicians here back onto their government that's the only answer that I can see so to the police in Mozambique you'd say if you've got nothing to hide invite some Australian investigators over and see what they can under this absolutely for the Reign credibility what are you hiding even it's not too late now for them to spray the whole books open and say federal police officers please come over and you can review what we've got and tell us where we could get it there was no Tom me but I noticed there was no time limit on losing a loved one it's my first thought every morning in my last thought every evening and everything in between and I think sometimes as time goes on again it gets harder and perhaps because I mean I miss her everyday but knowing that there is someone responsible for her murder out there and nothing's you know enough is not really being done to try and find them Ellie's ashes were scattered a killer made her out to see of Maury Alec pier Port Phillip Bay is where she loved to go sailing with her dad this was her playground where her spirit of adventure was born you know she loved the water I went sailing with her she just she just loved it this would be a happy place happy place whether she should jump off this pier you know what's it like for you when you come back here these days it's devastating Tom it's devastating you know it's just she's such a treasure and she loved life so much and it's just something that's doing your best to get the justice [Music] hello I'm Tom Stanford thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our channel you can also download the 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusive 60 minutes content

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 3,476,829

Rating: 4.6994643 out of 5

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam, Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Tom Steinfort, Mozambique, Tofo, Elly Warren, paradise, beach, melbourne, Africa, cold case, crime, murder

Id: Sy70uRIBcxc

Length: 23min 52sec (1432 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 05 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Steviewoods]

This was tough to watch. Poor guy having to go through this and then go there to do what the police should have done and walk in the last footsteps of his daughter. I recently became a father, she's only two but already I have so many good memories and so much love for her that only now can I begin to better understand the complete devastation of losing your child.

[u/nammyhoch]

Can somebody give a spoiler before I watch this thing? Did the dad find the culprit(s)?

[u/kiwi2385]

OK sounds bad, I'm from zimbabwe and been to moz quite abit. Life there is cheap, if you get killed it doesn't mean much and you won't see it in the news, police don't care and espaccaily don't care if your white. It's a sad truth but it's the reality of southern Africa.

[u/strikeskunk]

Heartbreaking

[u/spearobrendo]

The glamorization of the developing world as some safe place to learn and grow for young women is dangerous and concerning.

Edit: I’m not interested in a debate. Yes you can travel to places safely. Yes there are good people everywhere. Yes there is crime in America. That does not change the reality of the, frankly, primitive outlooks towards women many places of the developing world share.

[u/[deleted]]

I would never have guessed that local police in Mozambique would be dissappointing.

[u/[deleted]]

Just like those 2 scandinavian girls who got murdered. Fucking cruel

[u/korrach]

It's almost like there's a reason not to go to shitty countries.

• Someone from a shitty country that doesn't back there since I don't want to get murdered.

[u/SuperJusticeWarrior]

Don’t go to fucking Mozambique